Galle:
Sachin Tendulkar dances down the wicket and hits Muttiah Muralitharan out of the ground. Or how about this scenario: Murali foxes Tendulkar with a wrong one and gets him stumped. The clash between the leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker has always been a cricket fan’s delight. The world will see it for the last time in the Galle Test starting today.
The unorthodox off-spinner, who is eight scalps short of the 800-mark, has said this will be his final appearance in Test cricket. The occasion has all the makings of a dramatic finale. Murali will be bowling on a turning track in his home town, using all his wiles to try and reach the target of 800 wickets. Sachin, just three short of 50 Test hundreds, will be equally determined to see off the Lankan legend with a memorable innings.
The two have a lot in common. Both have respect for each other’s talent, they’re both down to earth in nature and great role models for youngsters.
“The most difficult batsman is whoever plays well on the day. In world cricket, I admire two people, Sachin and Brian Lara, because they are the most consistent batsmen in my generation. It is always challenging to bowl to Sachin. He is such a complete batsman,” Murali had told DNA.
Murali enjoys the competition against Sachin and breaks into a broad smile every time he gets to beat the bat of the Mumbai legend. So a keenly anticipated moment in Test cricket will arrive when Sachin comes out at No.4 and takes guard before Murali tosses his unorthodox spinners. “A great era is coming to an end. After this, cricket won’t be as interesting as before,” said a fan in Galle.
